Cincinnati, OH, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher A.J. Burnett pitches against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Credit: Frank Victores-US PRESSWIRE
1 Total Update since March 2, 2012
about 1 year ago Update 0 comments
If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.
-- Albert King, Born Under a Bad Sign
This could be the Pittsburgh Pirates’ slogan, if they wanted to be ironic. Just when they thought they might have added a mid-range starter to their rotation at a reasonable price, A.J. Burnett bunted a ball off his eye socket during practice earlier this week, which necessitated surgery.
We now have an estimate of Burnett's absence:
The good news on AJ Burnett is no longterm damage, but it likely is an 8-10 week process before he starts
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) March 2, 2012
It’s not clear if "he starts" means starting to get back into pitching condition, or starting regular-season games for the Pirates. Even if it’s the latter, that puts his return to the mound sometime in early- or mid-May.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is less definitive:
No information was given regarding the severity of the fracture, the nature of the surgery or the estimated recovery time.
If it wasn’t for bad luck, etc.
about 1 year ago Article 4 comments
A stray bunt could cause Pirates right-hander A.J. Burnett to miss a chunk of time.